From uber driver to terror attack suspect

Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, originally from Uzbekistan, has been living in the US since 2010, law enforcement sources told CNN. Uber said he started driving for the ride-hailing app in New Jersey just over six months ago.

The 29-year-old is accused of using a rented pickup truck to mow down cyclists on a busy bike path near the World Trade Center in Manhattan on Tuesday. He was shot and detained by police.

Uber said Saipov passed a background check in order to drive for the company and has now been banned from its platform. But his case may raise questions about Uber's background checks process.

Uber said in a statement on Tuesday night: 'We are horrified by this senseless of violence. Our hearts are with the victims and their families. We have reached out to law enforcement to provide our full assistance.'

The company said that he had passed a background check by the company and that they are now 'aggressively' reviewing his history with them, although they had not yet found any 'concerning safety reports.'

Records show Saipov received multiple traffic citations in the past.

About an hour before the attack on Tuesday, Saipov rented a truck from a Home Depot in Passaic, New Jersey. He then drove the truck into the city and sped down a bike bath - killing eight and injuring more than 15 while allegedly shouting 'Allahu Akbar'.

He then waved a paintball gun in one hand and a pellet gun in the other, and was shot in the abdomen by a police officer.

After coming out of surgery, Saipov was interviewed and reportedly appeared proud of what he had done and showed no remorse.

Images of ISIS flags were found in his truck, as well as a handwritten note pledging his allegiance to the terrorist group.

Following the attack, FBI agents returned to the Home Depot and found Saipov's white minivan in the parking lot, which they then search.

Saipov first lived in Ohio, where he worked as a commercial truck driver and started two businesses - Sayf Motors Inc. and Bright Auto LLC.

Bright Auto LLC is an active carrier registered with the US Department of Transportation. Records show that the trucking company has one truck and one driver. The company said it could not confirm if the suspect had rented the vehicle, but they are cooperating with police.

He also got married in Ohio to Nozima Odilova, who was 19 at the time. Marriage records show they listed the same hometown - Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Dilnoza Abdusamatova is an acquaintance of Saipov who says the man stayed with his family in a suburb of Cincinnati when he immigrated.

'He always used to work,' Abdusamatova told The Cincinnati Enquirer. 'He wouldn't go to parties or anything. He only used to come home and rest and leave and go back to work.'

A Belgian mother-of-two and five Argentinian friends are among the victims of the New York truck terror attack on Tuesday.

Ann-Laure Decadt, 31, was killed along with seven others when Sayfullo Saipov ran them over on the cycle path of the West Side Highway in Manhattan's Tribeca shortly after 3pm.

She was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Decadt was in the city on a trip with her mother and two sisters when she was killed. She is from the town of Roeselare in West Flanders.

Her husband Alexander Naessens told Belgium's HLN newspaper she was cycling on the path when Saipov mowed her down from behind in his rented Home Depot truck. 'She was a wonderful wife and the most beautiful mom of our two-month and three-year-old sons.

'The loss is unbearable and cannot be overcome,' he said.

She died in hospital shortly after being rushed away from the scene.

Five Argentinian men were also killed. They are; Ariel Erlij, Hernán Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damián Pagnucco and Hernán Ferruchi.

Three other people who were killed remain unidentified. They include at least one other man who died at the scene and two others.

A sixth man in the group of Argentinians, Martin Ludovico Marro, was also hospitalized in the incident, which killed a total of eight people and injured at least 13.

The suspect bragged to police about the deadly attack from his hospital bed, saying he would have continued the attack had he not crashed into a school bus.

Sayfullo told police he is pleased with his actions and is unapologetic for the attack, which killed 8 people and injured at least 13.